Match Report - Camberley U15 vs London Irish

It was an early start last Sunday as the squad made their way up the M3 to take on the Irish at their ground in Sunbury. A bright day but with a naggingly cold wind greeted us at the rather tremendous facilities at Hazelwood and (bar a couple of last minute withdrawals) Coach Jackson and Coach Bray had named a strong squad for the match.

This fixture is steeped in recent history as London Irish were our vanquished foes last season in the final of the Waterfall Cup. Would they be seeking revenge? Would the Cambo bubble be burst in our first away match in the Quins Cup? Would the ‘luck of the Irish’ be with them this time around? Well, the pre-match mood in the Cambo changing room was ebullient and effusive with the team confident coming after two straight wins. The question was whether this joviality could be transferred onto the pitch.

The game kicked off with the wind and sun at our backs and Cambo immediately made the most of the conditions. Within two minutes Irish had infringed at the breakdown giving Cambo a five metre penalty. A tap and go from Joel and in the blink of an eye he had crashed over for the game’s first try. 5 – 0 and a positive start.

However, Irish quickly hit back as Cambo infringed at the breakdown leading to a well taken penalty in tricky kicking conditions. 5 – 3 and the match was fizzing!

The pace of the game was frenetic and virtually from the kick-off Cambo were again deep in the opposition’s 22. From the breakdown 2 metre’s out, Rhys fed Bailey who ran a great line to dive over for our second try. Converted by Ollie, we were 12 – 3 up with barely 6 minutes on the clock.

Cambo were dominating up front with the Irish scrum at times in full retreat and it was forward power that lead to the next Cambo score. With Irish guilty of numerous high tackles, another 5 metre penalty was awarded. This time, with the opposition expecting us to run a repeat of our first try, Joel instead tapped and popped a pass to Bailey who, like an angry rampaging warthog, was unstoppable in scoring his second of the match. Another conversion from Ollie and it was 19 – 3 and all was – for once – looking comfortable.

However, a hopeful punt and chase combined with a dodgy decision to try to run the ball out of our own 22 eventually resulted in a try for the Irish. 19 – 8 at halftime and hope sprung anew in Irish hearts.

The second half saw a slew of replacements coming on with Ollie T, Ollie M, Dan, Finn and Henry all coming on. Quickly the match routine was reestablished and it wasn’t long before some sparkling backs play gave Ollie R a run-in try in the far corner. Cambo dominance was reasserted – or was it?

Well kind of. With the wind now at their backs, Irish were able to camp on the Cambo line and in was almost inevitable that following a series of penalties, they were able to dot down in the corner.

The game then started to get scrappy both physically and verbally! Irish guilty of continued high tackles, Cambo guilty of continual failure to secure their own ball at the breakdown. And so with the game now being played predominantly in the middle of the pitch, no further scores were added. At full time it was London Irish 13 – 24 Camberley.

To summarise, Cambo were victorious without playing their best rugby and never really looked in danger of losing. There were some outstanding performances with man-of-the-match John looking a class above at centre with some terrific line breaks and a couple of tackles that could be felt back in Watchetts. Rhys skippered the team with poise and assurance, Harry B was brilliant in virtually everything he did and Luca bristled with belief and confidence every time he got the ball.

So, we’re now three-and-zero in the Quins cup and whilst very happy with the result, we can’t get carried away as our performance fell well below what we are capable of. With our old adversaries in Rosslyn Park up next at home this Sunday, we are going to need to be at our best. Training this Wednesday is therefore crucial.

Just a reminder of the incentive here – if we win our group (and we’re top at present), there is a chance that we get to play the final at The Stoop, home of Harlequins. We’re close, very close, with only 2 matches to go. The intensity will start to ramp up in the next few days so please make every effort to get to training on Wednesday.

Come on Cambo!